The Rise of Braavos
by Phalanx30
Summary: Water dancers, Faceless Men, the Iron Bank, the Titan and the Arsenal. A New power will make itself known in Westeros, and change the War of the Five Kings in the process.


**The Rise of Braavos**

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing below except portions of the plot. All characters, locations, and concepts are held under their respective copyright holders/

 **Spoilers:** Game of Thrones Season 1

 **Timeline:** Starting from the Episode "The Pointy End"

 **Author's note:** As with all of my stories, suggestions about future plot developments are welcome and wanted, Reviews of any kind are very much wanted as well.

 **Chapter 1: Seeing True (Forel I)**

' _The eyes see true.'_ that wisdom was very apt for the current situation. The former First Sword to the Sealord of Braavos counted five Lannister soldiers and the Kingsguard Meryn Trant.

They all had real swords & armor. As to his own situation, he had a wooden training sword and a child to look after. Even though she was a wolf in waiting while becoming quite the water-dancer, she was in no way prepared for a fight.

If there was to be a fight? Lannister soldiers were like fleas in King's Landing, and a Kingsguard member was hardly unusual with the King so close at hand, having just returned from hunting & being wounded during such.

Of course, why was Meryn Trant here instead of near the person he was sworn to protect? This piece of information combined with the fact the girl's father would send Stark men to fetch her or come himself as well a sharp exchange about Arya Stark and whether she should be taken by men such as these, convinced Syrio that there would indeed be a fight.

Ser Meryn removed all doubt when he commanded "Kill the Braavosi, bring the girl." Now the true seeing took over. Syrio knew that he could fight with the wooden training sword. That he would win the fight was another matter. The opponents' armor made them heavy and slow but largely impervious to the most common blows. To defeat them he would have to be unconventional, going after unprotected areas.

Of course that was only if he stayed with the wooden sword. Having a real sword would change all of that. But first he had to engage in the right kind of battle to get that sword. He glanced at Arya "Remember the cat & dance girl." She nodded in recognition.

As Arya began to retreat and evade, two of the Lannister guards went after her. Now it was 3 on 1, with Ser Meryn hanging back and leaving the work to lesser men.

The key to the plan to get a real sword was evening the odds for a short period of time. The first attacker tried for a frontal attack and rushed forward. It was a simple matter to spin out of the way and bring the wooden blade down on the back of his leg. The knee buckled and the guard fell grunting in pain.

The second guard moved as the first one went down. Syrio spared a glance at Arya, she was the cat and the guards were beginning students who were not yet fast enough to catch her. She stayed just out of their grasp, running, jumping, and tumbling around the room in a beautiful evasion.

He turned his attention back to his own situation. He had continued his dance, even while his focus was elsewhere. The second guard was more cautious, but he was also far too slow. Blades clashed once and twice. By the third encounter the guard was very much out of position. The wooden blade struck again, this time at an exposed neck.

Now it was single combat, however; the third guard hung back and did not attack at first. The guard circled, seeming to measure his opponent and looking for any weak spots. Syrio knew that Arya could not avoid her pursuers forever, she would tire. So, he attacked. The wooden sword struck with a speed that the guard could not hope to match. He didn't have to defend though as his armor protected him. Unfortunately, his sword hand was vulnerable. The wooden blade swung for a final time, causing the guard to drop his sword and cradle his newly injured hand.

Syrio sprung forward, using a stabbing motion with the wooden sword to knock the guard back. With his other hand he picked up the dropped sword. Now armed with a real sword he turned his attention to the guards chasing Arya. Sparing a glance at Ser Meryn, the Kingsguard seemed to be waiting his turn, exuding a smug confidence.

The two guards were frustrated, here was a little girl who was running them ragged, and she was smiling at her antics. They'd been ordered not to kill her. They dared not face the wrath of the Queen Regent, who wanted the girl alive. By this point they were so focused on capturing this girl, that they failed to see their compatriots get utterly beaten by the dancing master.

The realization came too late for one of them as Syrio surprised and killed him with a single swing. The final unscathed guard now noticed that his situation had changed for the worse. Two of his friends were dead. The other two were combat ineffective for the near future. Not to mention, the arrogant Kingsguard seemed content to use them all for fodder.

Realization and fear set in. The final guard managed to run from the room, his life was far more important than his duty. As powerful as house Lannister was, they would not waste time on someone as lowly as himself, if they could ever find him again. Lost in the crowds of Kings Landing, he could easily hide for awhile until he could leave the city.

For Syrio, only Ser Meryn still presented a threat. The Kingsguard offered his opinion of the final guard. "What a fucking coward."

"I do not think so, he simply didn't want to die today" Syrio could understand that. Even the faith of the Seven acknowledged the Stranger.

Ser Meryn was having none of it. He spat "spare me your superstition, Braavosi, it will not save you today."

"As you know, we have a saying in Braavos, all men must die. If I am to live, it will be by my hand." Syrio could see Arya come up beside him.

He turned to her "Stay back, child, this is my dance. Ser Meryn here means to kill me & take you. Be sure you have a real sword."

The little wolf's eyes lit up at the prospect. She scowled at Meryn Trant, and moved away.

Ser Meryn seemed anxious "Can we get started, I'm supposed to bring the girl to the new king, she must share in her father's treachery."

Arya gasped, and Syrio knew what she was thinking. So he barked harshly "Stay back! Do not interfere, girl."

Arya sulked and Ser Meryn laughed, without further comment he moved to attack.

As Ser Meryn moved, Syrio noticed two things. The Kingsguard was good, as befitting one of his station. He left very few openings. But the other thing that was noticed made that skill all but irrelevant. The armor of a Kingsguard is made of the best materials and provides excellent all-around protection, but there are trade-offs. With all that armor came a slight decrease in speed.

Now Ser Meryn was still trained and skilled. His armor was like a second skin. So any decrease in speed would only come through fatigue. Unfortunately for him, he was facing an unarmored opponent who specialized in avoiding strikes rather than blocking them. Instead of using strength to counter strength, Syrio let the knight swing away.

Now after many attacks and evasions, Ser Meryn started to show some strain. He began to become angry that this dancing master was simply toying with him, and his swings became marginally slower as he began to tire.

All this time Syrio was seeing. He had to be careful here. If he enraged Ser Meryn enough, the knight would abandon his training and opt for a more brutal and direct approach. If that happened, Syrio knew he was likely to die. Ser Meryn's armor would serve as an effective bludgeon.

He had to end this now.

He allowed Ser Meryn a final attack. Only this time he let the sword get closer. The Kingsguard over-committed, and due to the length of the fight, took a single extra step.

Now the Braavosi had a choice. He could be merciful or cruel. There were advantages to both approaches. Being merciful would take less time, and there was no knowing whether more Lannister guards were on their way. Being cruel could allow them to get information from Ser Meryn and gain some awareness of what was going on outside this room. But the time factor was in play and the Kingsguard could draw attention with any screaming.

So he was going to be merciful. No matter how good the armor, at least for foot soldiers, there was always an unprotected space between the helm and the breastplate. And again the true seeing guided his hand. The sword came up and down on the back and left of Ser Meryn's neck. Blood spurted, though the head did not come off, and the Kingsguard took two more steps before he collapsed.

Syrio stood over the fallen Kingsguard, waiting to see if the killing stroke served as such. Arya jolted him out of his focus "Syrio! What should we do with them?" He looked over at Arya, who was looking at the injured Lannister soldiers. It was a good question, running and hiding would now be necessary. And the soldiers could be interrogated later by those who wished to find himself and the Stark girl.

The killing of a Kingsguard was a serious offense, and the crime would be swiftly discovered. Especially with the order Ser Meryn had been given regarding Arya. Which led to another question, what had Arya's father done to be accused of treason. If the Kingsguard was any indication, a direct threat to the crown was likely. Syrio knew of the friendship between King Robert and Ned Stark, which begged the questions, was Robert still King? Or did someone hostile to the Starks now wield power, through Robert or otherwise?

The answer to the first question was given by the continued ringing of the bells. A new king must have been crowned. This provided the answer to second question, the Lannister soldiers and Kingsguard, meant that yes, the hostility towards the Starks was plain as the day.

Now to more pressing concerns. What to do about the two wounded soldiers? Himself and Arya would find it necessary to run and hide. He couldn't leave them alive, they would tell of what happened, and give any pursuers a valuable starting point. But here the dancing master balked. He was not an executioner, he had killed three men already, but that was in the heat of battle. The only sin these two wounded men had committed was simply knowing too much. And yet again the seeing showed the way.

The soldiers would only know what they heard. So Syrio turned from the downed soldiers to Arya "Child, you are my responsibility, so I must keep you safe. We will leave this place and hide in the city until we can escape north, I must return you to your family."

As expected Arya was furious at running "What about my Father! If he's accused of treason, Joffrey and Cersei will kill him" Now there was animosity that had some history behind it, Syrio made a note to ask after it later.

For he responded "Don't argue with me, girl, not now. We need to move."

Arya pouted but said no more, she knew the reality as well as he did. There was nothing they could do except run.

Syrio turned towards the soldiers. "Tell no one where we are going." The soldiers looked at him incredulously, also as expected. They had no reason to keep silent.

It was then that Syrio turned and left the open air court in the Tower of the Hand, Thankfully Arya followed him.

Once they were away from the soldiers, Syrio whispered to Arya as they walked "I know you are worried about your father, as am I, this new king has already proven himself to be cruel by his attempt at capturing you. I do have a plan, to save you both."

Arya gasped in surprise, and Syrio concluded "We cannot run, far to much of a chance of being discovered in city or on the road. We cannot stay or hide in hopes of remaining undiscovered. So we must hide in preparation for an attack, our enemies will be misled, they will think they know where we are or where we will be heading. So we have the advantage."

Ever a smart girl, Arya picked up the rest of the plan "We're going to save my Father, aren't we?" She lit up at the thought.

"We will try, child." But there was still one important question, where could they hide and plan without being discovered by one or more of the many intelligence networks that covered King's Landing? The answer was right there all along. The Tower of the Hand dictated their next move, the lair of the Spider was nearby along the wall of the Keep, and besides, Varys could be persuaded to help them achieve their goals. A sword could provide an effective argument in most any negotiation.

 **Authors note:** Thanks to SerGoldenhand, author of such wonderful stories as _A Coat of Gold_ and _The Sunset Kingdoms,_ for giving me the inspiration and impetus to finish this beginning chapter.


End file.
